COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—U.S. pairs champions Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett have left their coaches and are now training with 2002 world bronze pairs medalist John Zimmerman and his wife, Silvia Fontana.
Denney and Barrett had trained with Jim Peterson, Lyndon Johnston and Alison Smith since they began skating together about two years ago.
“We feel this change is necessary to take our skating to the next level,” Barrett said in a statement Monday. “We look forward to working with John and Silvia. They were great competitors, and we feel they have a lot to offer as coaches.”
The United States hasn’t won a pairs medal since Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard’s bronze in 1988. Zimmerman won three U.S. titles with Kyoko Ina, and their bronze at the 2002 world championships is the only medal by an American pair in the last 12 years. Fontana is a five-time Italian champion who skated in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics.
Denney and Barrett were seventh at this year’s world championships, moving up two spots from their debut in 2009. They were 13th at the Vancouver Olympics.
Denney and Barrett are scheduled to compete at NHK Trophy and Skate America in this season’s Grand Prix series.
